Upset as friendly neighbourhood fox dies from poisoning

Its death has caused upset for residents of Ashbury Avenue, Nythe, who had gotten used to seeing the surprisingly friendly animal living and playing with other foxes in their gardens. 

Sandra Wood, 61, noticed that the frequent visitor to her garden, the normally healthy and young fox, did not look very well on Sunday morning and called RSPCA Oak and Furrows, who sent out a wildlife animal ambulance.

The fox sunbathing in Sandra's garden (Image: Sandra Wood)

The fox was rushed to the Drove Vets animal hospital where it received treatment for ingesting poison evidenced by the yellowing of its eyes, but it died there a couple of hours later after succumbing to the poison and experiencing seizures. 

The animal charity, which has a base in Cricklade, has now issued a plea to others to take precautions with any use of poisons. 

Sandra said: "The fox had been coming to my garden since the summer. She was surprisingly confident around people and loved to sunbathe on my patch of grass when it was hot, or sleep on the sofa in my covered pagoda when it was raining."

"I found her behind our garden wall, she didn’t look well, when I got near, she stood up took a few steps then collapsed on the floor. It was like she was drunk."

Oak and Furrows said the fox was in excellent condition and the prime of its life (Image: Sandra Wood)

After calling Oak and Furrows who said they would send out an ambulance, Sandra and her husband Stephen were able to get the poorly animal in an old dog cage. 

The couple was told that if the fox recovered it would be returned to their garden but received a phone call two hours later from the ambulance driver confirming the bad news.

"We are quite upset that this has happened to her, it’s awful," Sandra added, "We had gotten used to her in our garden, it seems quiet without her now."

A spokesperson for RSPCA Oak and Furrows confirmed that the fox had been poisoned. 

"The yellow in the eyes indicates toxins in the liver. We have no reason to believe this was an intentional poisoning but are saddened that the fox was able to access the poison.

Evidence of the poisoning that killed this young fox (Image: RSPCA Oak and Furrows)

"We would like the public to be extra vigilant when putting down poisons to ensure other wildlife cannot access it.

"It is worth considering that if the fox could access this poison, so could a domestic cat or dog which would have been an equally tragic outcome."

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